This morning I picked up my daughter’s easy-to-understand Bible and began to read.  I flipped though the pages and the Lord led me to Jesus’ parable about the seeds. I have read this passage and taught on it many times but today God showed me something that I have missed in the past. He was speaking to me about me. Here's what I learned.

The story is a familiar one to those who read the Bible much. Some of the seed falls on the roadside and never grows. This symbolizes the fact that the word of God will never take root in some lives because the enemy quickly rushes in a steals away the truth. Perhaps we should be quicker to follow up with people or challenge them to make a decision to follow Christ.  The enemy is in a hurry to steal it away. We should beat him to the seed and water it before he steels it away.

The other seed falls on to the rocks and grows up quickly but is destroyed when hard times come. To me, this represents the fact that we must be more intentional about helping people develop deeper roots in their faith. It is not enough to plant the seed; we must also prepare people for the storms they will face. Most people want to see quick results with quick fruit. True growth, that God blesses, helps people grow deeper and more fruitful. As a Pastor my call is to produce fruit that remains.

More seed fell in to the thorns. It grew up well but its fruit was choked out by pleasures, distractions and worries. This is the section that hit me in the head like a two-by-four. It is so easy in ministry to let these things choke our ministries. How much more fruit would I bear in my ministry if I weren’t so worried? What if I didn’t worry about money, my future or what others thought about me? What if I simply trusted God to provide for all my needs? What if I confidently stepped out every time God told me to take a step and didn’t worry about the circumstances?  What if I made decisions based on what God was telling me to do rather than worrying about what others may say? How much more fruit would I be enjoying today I didn’t let these worries choke me?

The fruit is also choked out by pleasure. I love pleasure, and sometimes we need (a lot) pleasure. But, pleasure at the expense of fruit leads to hunger. Imagine a farmer who spends all of his time chasing pleasure rather than planting and harvesting his field. Before long he will find himself hungry and homeless. There is a time for pleasure and there is a time for work. The fruit becomes choked out when I am more passionate about enjoying pleasure than I am about enjoying my work. In low accountability ministries, it is easy to let pleasures choke out your fruitfulness. I must constantly keep myself in check and ask others to hold me accountable in my pleasures. The greatest pleasure is to be used by God. The enemy wants me to buy in to cheep pleasure. I will not buy it any more. I want to be fruitful.

Distractions are another form of thorns. From Internet to exercise, the enemy knows how to effectively distract us. In my life I constantly fight against distractions. Hunting, running, internet, playing or even my family can distract from the call God places on my life as a pastor. “There is a time for everything” and as a leader I must learn the best time for all things. I am afraid. No, I know I would have seen more fruit in my ministry if I had dealt with distractions in my life earlier. I am learning it now and it feels good. I can see that God wants to do more through me. He wants me to bear more fruit than I could ever imagine. I want that too.

God today I ask for your help with the thorns. I make a fresh commitment to not worry, balance pleasure and work, and fight the distractions in my life. I want to bear much fruit.